1. Field of the Invention
A method of reinforcing a fiber with a helically wrapped reinforcement material utilizing a reinforcement material dispensing unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various methods of reinforcing a fiber are known to one skilled in the art. These methods include suspending a fiber between a first support and a second support and positioning a dispensing device in close proximity to the fiber. The dispensing device then dispenses a reinforcing material, attaches the reinforcing material to the fiber, and rotates the dispensing device in a circular path around the fiber. The dispensing device helically wraps the reinforcing material about the fiber for increasing the strength of the fiber.
One such method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,288 to Gallagher et al. The ""288 patent discloses a helical braider for constructing a triaxially braided tubular member. A winding station dispenses a fiber and a winder rotator causes the winding station to rotate about the member.
Additionally, other methods disclose obtaining different materials and utilizing the materials for reinforcing the fiber. One material that is increasingly being studied is silk from a Nephila clavipes spider. The spider silk is forcibly extracted from the N. clavipes spider and used for purification to study the proteins of the silk. The proteins are then recombined in an attempt to mimic the properties of the silk as dispensed by the N. clavipes spider. One such method is shown in U. S. Pat. No. 5,989,894 to Lewis et al. The ""894 Patent discloses a method for obtaining silk from the N. clavipes spider. A single silk fiber is extracted from one spinneret of the N. clavipes spider and attached to a spool. The spool is connected to an electric drill and the silk is forcibly extracted from the spider.
However, these methods do not use the spider silk to directly reinforce the fiber and the recombined proteins do not have identical properties as those of the N. clavipes spider silk. It would be advantageous to provide a method which increases the strength of the fiber by rotating the fiber and helically coating the fiber with silk.
The subject invention is a method of reinforcing a fiber suspended between a first support and a second support utilizing a silk line dispensing device. The method comprises the steps of suspending a fiber between the first support and the second support wherein the suspended fiber defines a central axis and positioning the silk line dispensing device near the fiber and aligned with the central axis for attaching a silk line to the fiber. The silk line is then attached to the fiber. The method is characterized by rotating the fiber about the central axis to helically coat the fiber with the silk line for increasing the strength of the fiber.
One advantage of the subject invention includes directly incorporating the N. clavipes spider silk to the fiber for increasing the properties of the fiber. Another advantage is the harvestability of the N. clavipes spiders in the regions which they are commonly found. The N. clavipes spiders are found in the southeast regions of the United States through Argentina and Peru. The N. clavipes spider is most commonly found in Puerto Rico. Farmers in these regions are continually cutting down the rain forests for their livestock. However, these farmers could shift their resources from clearing the forests to harvesting the N. clavipes spiders due to the profitability of harvesting the N. clavipes spider silk as a valuable resource when used to reinforce a fiber.